Hustler Sport - to buy or not

tfarrell

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Hey there,

Wanted to get some experienced feedback from member's on the Hustler Sport:
  • Does it cut well?
  • How is the mulching kit?
  • How does it do with the bagging kit?
  • Is the motor strong enough to get wet grass into the bags?
  • Does it mow fast?

Anyother thoughts greatly appreciated.

Thank you!
Tim
 

Fireman 123

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I looked at a 42" sport with the 18hp kaw today. Nice mower for the price ($3,495). I would also like to hear from anyone that has one.
 

Kane84

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just picked up a hustler sport. bought it yesterday and delivered this morning. bastards couldnt even fill it up with fuel after spending 4204$ total least they could do.
my lot is one acre. controls are pretty sensitive will take some getting used to. grass was 6" so set the deck at 3" throttle 3/4 of the way up i could go as fast as she could and the cut was great.

pros: tight package, kawasaki is great. cut, fun.
cons: looking at it at the dealer next to fastrak and bigger models it looks like a piss ant.
very sceptical at first sight. tiny bubble rear tires. no arm rest. no foldable roll bar its either on or off. no center deck rollers.

my 1990 jd stx38 shot the **** on me. ive been hassling the wife for 3 months about a new mower.
i wanted a ferris base model or high end starter model.... prices scared the wife. so searching for entry level non-box store mowers i came across the hustler sport and exmark quest.
hustler was chosen because of local support.
as off day one i am impressed. yes if you have under 2 acres this is the mower for u.
p.s 42" trim side of deck is dead even with outside back tire..... didnt see how yo9u would trim with out rubbing your mower down the side of it also.
out the door price with tax. 4204.12 with 48" deck,motor bumper 600cc kawasaki
 

stevensinks

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Im looking at the Hustler Sport. I can get a 42inch for $3350. It looks to be well made and the warranty looks good. After looking at some of the post here I wonder if I should go for 48 inch. Any thing you can tell me about this mower would be great. Thanks Charlie
 

Kane84

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Charlie,
Look at the 42" on the trim side of deck.... It's perfectly inline with back tire..To me that just makes it a little difficult to edge with. For the 300$ extra get the 48 and an extra blade.
Sport does not have the free float deck. (hanging from chains)
Intead the deck is hanging by a few steel straps that sway. Thus it rattles. And is it really worth 4k.... We will see.
Other than that all around great mower. P.s if your new to ztr mower, watch your roll bar on low branches.



**Don't by briggs and Stratton
 

Carl53

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Mowed with my new 42 inch sport last night. Much more responsive than my former 20+ year old Dixon.
Cut fine. I did not notice much more trimming left than with the Dixon, then on the other hand I'm not so particular about it out back where I'd have most of that to do. My sport has the B&S 17.5 HP engine and it was quite acceptable. I had not read on here prior to my purchase of concerns, then again my was a couple of years old floor model that I got for $2000.
 

Kane84

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Carl-
For 2000 you made off like a bandit.
42" trim was just a theory I had. That's what I should have done. I bet it fits great through gates.

Please give your review on your new
hustler.
 

contheon

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I have owned my Hustler Sport for 2 years now. It's the 42" deck, Honda GXV 530 configuration. My lawn is a challenging 2 acres of rolling hills and obstacles which includes a 60' long 15 degree slope in the front that is over 250' across. My prior mower was a Scag 48" walk behind with a 17HP Kawasaki.

I choose the Hustler Sport for it's build quality and compact design. The frame, deck, blade speed and components are are a step up from the more popular residential choices in this class. The Scaq Freedom is a quality machine but I simply had no place to store it. Same for the Exmark Quest.

The Sport's low center of gravity is a big advantage. It's extremely manuverable and stable. Cut quality is as good as my Scag. At my time of purchase, the Kawasaki was not an option ... but I have been impressed by the Honda's performance and would buy the same configuration again today. It's smooth, fast, is never bogged down by tall wet grass, and powers up the hills.

There has been alot writen about zero turns and hills, so here's my experience. The hill in front of my house is an extra challenge because it faces south. It's also has a concave curve in the center. So it's 15 degrees overall, and about 18 degrees at the steepest point. Both the top and bottom are flat. The grass can easily be burned out by the sun by mid summer if you attempt to always mow in the same direction. Heavier commercial riders would destroy the grass on this hill.

The recommended cut is across the hill. The Sport can cover this 250' run without slipping, although in the steepest section I'm pushing hard on the foot rests and leaning into the hill to avoid sliding on the seat. Cutting straight up and down the hill is actually easier... and I know, not recommended. The flat areas on the top and bottom of my hill and Sport's low center of gravity make this possible. The Sport acceleration up the hill is stable and impressive. The trip down the hill is more of a challenge. You need to start slow and go down no more than 10 degrees off center. Beyond that point, the Hydros can release. In my case, with the flat area at the bottom, it's not an issue. To keep sun related damage on the hill to a minimum, I vary direction every cut.

I highly recommend the Sport. If you have an application with a hill steeper than mine, you should consider a model with the heavier duty hydros. The Hustler FasTrac uses the ZT-3100s which have 50% more wheel torque.
 

Carl53

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Cut my yard for the 2nd time today with my 42 inch sport. Excellent cut in quick fashion. Decided to go ahead and change the oil (recommended for an initial change at 4 hours). Now I have my first beef with the unit. Mine has the 17.5 Hp B/S engine. Not sure that it makes any difference since the owners manual for the unit is universal although I have a separate engine manual.

Anyway the means provided to drain the oil is as described in the owners manual, slightly different than the B/S manual. What is provided is a flimsy 'quick open so called valve' and an eight inch piece of tubing. The tubing is necessary because the drain valve is located probably 4 inches from the edge of the steel engine deck. Unfortunately it takes virtually the whole eight inches to extend the drain off the edge since you have to bend the tube to get it behind the tire. After removing the dust cap, and fitting the tube to the nipple, you are to turn the plastic valve to the left and pull it straight out to initiate oil flow through the valve and nipple. Mine was so flimsy that it slid off the metal fitting, spurting oil everywhere. After shoving it back on and having to refit the tube while oil is coming out, since the tube being so bent to extend to a drain position was not happy about having the connection on the other end turned/moved and decided to come off. Eventually the unit drained, with a cup or so laying on the deck and in the 3/16 inch wide gap between the engine and the frame behind the seat. After mopping up the bulk of the oil and being amazed that anyone could engineer an oil drain system 1000X worse than the one I had on my Dixon that I often had unpleasant thoughts about, I proceeded to examine the 'valve'. I found it cracked. Not that I placed any unusual force on it. I seriously doubt that anyone actually could be expected to successfully use the drain system provided on a routine basis, (I'll allow that you might get lucky once). Perhaps I'm overlooking something major other than what was provided. Anyway, have any sport owners come up with a better valve/drain system? I thought I'd ask before heading back to the dealer.
 

txzrider

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I had that flimsy valve on my old snapper, it was at the back so it worked ok, I was just always concerned it would open accidentally. My country clipper has a fabricated replacement. It is copper or brass pipe leading to a valve and then to a spigot that points through a hole in the deck where the engine mounts.
 
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